creating-gha

name	creating-gha
description	Creates GitHub Actions for the Marketplace. Use when scaffolding a new action, implementing composite steps, writing BATS tests, or preparing a Marketplace release.
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code
metadata	{"allowed-tools":"Read, Grep, Glob, Edit, Write, Bash, WebSearch, WebFetch","argument-hint":["action-name"],"stability":"stable"}

Creating GitHub Actions

Target: $ARGUMENTS

Creates a Marketplace-ready composite GitHub Action with TDD, signed commits, and proper release flow.

References

• references/marketplace-checklist.md — action.yaml fields, signed commits, release flow, gotchas
• references/python-gha-patterns.md — full Python composite action walkthrough (uv, pyproject.toml, CI)
• references/companion-plugins.md — companion plugins by workflow phase (tdd-core, python-dev, simplify, security-audit, commit-helper, makefile-core)

Marketplace Requirements

See references/marketplace-checklist.md for full reference.

Required action.yaml fields:

• name — unique on Marketplace (check before using)
• description — shown in search results
• branding — icon (Feather icon name) + color (white/yellow/blue/green/orange/red/purple/gray-dark)

Scaffold

Pick the layout that matches the action's language:

Shell-based (composite with inline run: or scripts/*.sh):

action.yaml           # composite action definition + branding
scripts/              # extracted shell logic (when inline run: grows too large)
tests/unit/           # BATS test files
.github/workflows/    # ci.yaml (bats + actionlint + shellcheck), release.yaml
README.md             # usage example with @vN, inputs table, version badge

Python-based (composite calling uv run):

action.yaml           # composite action definition + branding
src/                  # Python source (app.py entry point)
tests/                # pytest tests
.github/workflows/    # ci.yaml (pytest + ruff), release.yaml
pyproject.toml        # deps, ruff, bumpversion
uv.lock               # committed, CI uses --frozen
README.md             # usage example with @vN, inputs table, version badge

See references/python-gha-patterns.md for the full Python walkthrough.

TDD Workflow

RED — infra tests first:

# tests/unit/test_action.bats
@test "action.yaml exists" { [ -f action.yaml ]; }
@test "action.yaml has name field" { grep -q "^name:" action.yaml; }
@test "action.yaml has description field" { grep -q "^description:" action.yaml; }
@test "action.yaml has branding" { grep -q "^branding:" action.yaml; }
@test "action.yaml has runs.using composite" { grep -q "using: composite" action.yaml; }

Run: bats tests/unit/ — all must fail first.

GREEN — implement to pass:

Write action.yaml with required fields. Add scripts/ and steps. Run bats tests/unit/ — all pass.

VALIDATE:

actionlint
shellcheck scripts/*.sh

Commit Flow (protected main — no direct push)

Use signed commit via GitHub API (blob→tree→commit→branch→PR→squash). See references/marketplace-checklist.md for the full bash pattern.

Never git push directly to main.

Release Flow

1. Merge PR to main
2. Trigger release.yaml workflow (uses bump-my-version with commit=false tag=false)
3. Workflow creates v0.1.0 tag + GitHub Release + floating v0 tag
4. On GitHub Release page: check "Publish this Action to the GitHub Marketplace"

Quality Checks

actionlint
shellcheck scripts/*.sh
bats tests/unit/

All must pass before PR creation.

Repository Security Settings

• Actions permissions: allow owner + selected non-owner actions only
• Commit SHA pinning: require for all third-party actions
• Workflow permissions: read-only default (workflows declare writes explicitly)
• Artifact/log retention: 30 days (not default 90)
• Cache retention: 7 days, 1 GB limit
• Fork PR approval: require for all external contributors
• Allow Actions to create PRs: enabled (for bump + data workflows)

Python GHA Pattern (uv)

- uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v6
  with:
    enable-cache: true
- run: |
    uv sync --frozen --no-dev --project "${{ github.action_path }}"
    uv run --project "${{ github.action_path }}" python "${{ github.action_path }}/src/app.py"